second home buying

The Ascent Opens For Sales in Colorado

Filed under: Estates, Real Estate Developments

Sales began today on The Ascent, a new 49-unit resort condominium project at the base of Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Avon, Colorado. The first sales offering includes some 25 units initially with two-, three- and four bedroom residences up for sale.

Units have upscale appliances and finishes with knotty alder cabinetry wood flooring, granite countertops, GE Profile stainless appliances, GE stack washers and dryers, Jacuzzi tubs, gas fireplaces, high-speed Internet wiring, ceramic bathroom flooring, and a designer's palette of muted paint colors and premium finishes throughout. Property amenities are designed for vacationers with a fitness area with lockers and a steam room; indoor pool; indoor and outdoor hot tubs; and outdoor fireplace and deck; sports lounge; youth game room; reading lounge with a fireplace; ski lockers with boot warmers and a ski season shuttle to Beaver Creek and Vail.Prices start at $349,000 for a two-bedroom on the second floor and zoom up to $1.099 million for a four-bedroom penthouse, prices that are approximately 50-67% of the 2008 pricing.

Tags: beaver creek, colorado real estate, second home, second home buying, Second Home Destinations, second home market, second homes, the ascent

From Conspicuous to Conscious Consumption: Redesigning the Meaning of Luxury

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth, By Design

Looking for the green shoots of optimism is not easy -- especially after two winters of discontent. Yet, there appears to be a resurgence of optimism, a new energy that may have the power to redesign as it redefines new ways of perceiving the idea and the reality of luxury.

On the plus side is the Wall Street Journal. In the 03/08/2010 article entitled The Ten Best Places For Second Homes, Steven M. Sears declared, "At long last, the market for luxury real estate is coming back to life. Prices for primary residences, which plunged at least 20% from the peak in 2007, appear to have bottomed. In some of the snappiest locations, scattered bidding wars are breaking out and prices are turning upward. In Greenwich, Conn., realty brokers say, the final months of 2009 were almost record-setters for sales volume, as two years of pent-up demand was unleashed."

Also pertinent are data in the newest Wealth Report (3/15/10), with inferences that seem promising: "Retail chains post a 3.7% increase in February comps, with luxury outperforming the overall group. Consumers are again indulging in luxury purchases."

Could this mean that the 2009 severe recession earthquake is behind us? Well, hopefully. But it's necessary to remember the concept of false positives. In medicine, economics, statistics, pregnancy tests and LIFE, they are results that look good but, after the dust settles, may not yield the results originally expected. Consistently valid results take time. So with the shoots of hope within the numbers above, there is still room/time for questioning. We receive clearer pictures as time goes on, understanding that hope should be tempered by the economic history of the recent past.

Maybe the consensus of philosophers and economists were right – that it takes trauma to change minds and actions, and because of this unexpected economic jolt, what has also changed over the past 18 or more months is an unexpected evolution in the definitions and dimensions of luxury.

Tags: Abercrombie Kent Residence Club, changes in luxury buying, consequences of recession, CRM, Exclusive Resorts, Exquisite Safaris, luxury buying, luxury trends, second home buying

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